The Ministry of Defence is being urged to review its practice of outsourcing services after MPs complained that contractors drop standards and “squeeze” workers to increase profits. The Defence Committee said outsourcing appeared to be the default position, with little consideration given to providing services in-house.
The MoD was not always willing to step in and enforce expected standards, said the committee, adding it was “an absurd state of affairs” that the ministry was not allowed to look at a contractor’s previous performance when assessing a bid, a state of affairs that needs to be “rectified immediately”. Defence Fire and Rescue was given as an example of an outsourced service that would benefit from an MoD review, with a potential reduction of manning levels in the future and a high number of voluntary exits.
Capita, which runs the contract, is starting to drop its standards, said the report. It added that contractors “drop standards and squeeze employees to raise their profit margin”.
